


Five Times Korra Ran Away, And One Time She Left For Good

by Wrench_Wench



Series: Fics from Wrench_Wench's Tumblr [7]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 19:42:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16878006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrench_Wench/pseuds/Wrench_Wench
Summary: By the time Korra ran away to Republic City, the White Lotus were practically used to itA fic I wrote in 2012 while Book 1 was still coming out. I'm bringing it to AO3 in case tumblr destroys itself.





	Five Times Korra Ran Away, And One Time She Left For Good

-*-

I.

The big house that the bearded northerner had taken her to was cold and it smelled funny. It was way too clean, and Korra felt like she’d be yelled at for playing in the spotless rooms. The food was strange, and she didn’t even get dessert. Korra had a room all to herself, with brand new furniture, and bedding from the Earth Kingdom. It was all so strange that she couldn’t even sleep at night.

The worst part was being away from Momma and Papa. The bearded man and his friends didn’t know how to make good stewed sea prunes like Korra’s Momma did. They didn’t play with her like Papa would. And when Korra went tried to sleep in her strange bed, with its silk sheets instead of fur bedding, there was no Momma or Papa to hold her.

Korra knew that she was supposed to be a big girl. She was The Avatar, and The Avatar doesn’t cry. The Avatar doesn’t need her Momma to sing her a lullaby, or her Papa to kiss her boo boos better. The Avatar was brave, and tough, and strong.

The Avatar was a grown up.

But Korra wasn’t a grown up. She hadn’t even seen her fifth summer. Korra just wanted her Momma and Papa. So she was going to go back home, and the bearded northerner was just going to have to deal with it.

It wasn’t all that hard to sneak out. It was the time of always night, and the guards were looking for people trying to come inside the big house, not people trying to leave it. Especially small people. Korra was able to walk out the big doors, and follow the stars of The Warrior’s Spear all the way home.

When Korra got home, Momma and Papa were fast asleep. She didn’t want them to wake up, so she simply pulled off her anorak, and crawled in between them. It was the first restful night of sleep Korra had since she had been taken to the big house.

\- - -

“Tonraq, you know we have to tell them she’s here. The White Lotus must be in a panic by now.”

“I know, I’m just not ready to let her go quite yet. It’s clear she’s missed us too; five years old is far to young for a child to be separated from their parents.”

“Then we will inform the White Lotus that our daughter must be allowed to visit us at least once a week. Hopefully that will keep her from running off in the middle of the night again.”

“This is why you are the brains in our relationship, Senna.”

-*-

II.

It had taken Korra months to figure out the schedule of the supply sleds going to and from Anchorage, but it had been worth it. The girl had never seen such a big town in her life. There was a harbor filled with huge metal ships, and more buildings than Korra could count.

But best of all, there were other kids. The port had plenty of squares where the local children would gather and play, ranging from little toddlers to teenagers. The other children in the small village Korra had been born in were much older than her, and she’d never had the chance to catch up with them before she’d been forced to move to the big house. Maybe these kids would want to be friends with her.

There was a small group of boys and girls around Korra’s size skating around a fountain in the middle of one of the squares. Korra didn’t want to mess up talking to them, so she forced herself not to be scared. She marched up to the tallest girl there.

“Hi, I’m Korra. Can I play?”

The other girl looked at her for a minute, and tugged on her braid in thought. “I guess that’s okay. Do you have skates, or can you make them?”

Korra nodded enthusiastically and waterbent a pair of ice skates onto the soles of her boots.

“Okay, well, do you see the ball?” The braided girl pointed to a ragged rawhide ball being kicked around by two of the other skate wearing children. “The idea is to try to keep the other team from getting the ball, and to keep it from falling in the hole in the water.” There she indicated where the icy surface had been broken to allow people to collect water from the fountain. “You can be on my team.”

With a cry of wordless delight, Korra followed her new friend around the fountain. She didn’t really know who was on her ‘team’, but that was okay, since no one else seemed to know either. The children laughed and shrieked as they pushed and ran into one another in pursuit of the little ball.

Half of the time, the game would devolve into races around the fountain. A boy with shiny metal skates beat everyone. The girl with the braid was the best at keeping anyone else from taking the ball from her, though Korra managed to sneak it away from her once. A boy and girl with the same face could play tricks where they practically juggled the ball with their feet.

Korra couldn’t remember ever having so much fun. No one was trying to tell her what to do, or yelling about “duty”, or anything. She was just getting to play.

When the boy with the shiny skates accidentally kicked the rawhide ball too hard, Korra chased after it, intent on catching it before the others. She was so focused on following the ball’s path, that she didn’t pay much attention to her own, or how close she was to the hole in the ice. A loud “crack” was Korra’s only warning before she fell into the shallow, freezing water.

“Are you okay?” The same-faced boy and girl wobbled on the ice near Korra, but far enough away to avoid falling in as well.

Korra grinned at them. “I’m fine! I can take care of this really fast.”

The young Avatar crawled out of the fountain, and shook off all of the water soaking her clothes, even as she felt it try to freeze to her skin. Using a motion that Master Katara had shown her, Korra then made the ice near the water hole thicker, so that her new friends wouldn’t break it like she had. Satisfied with her work, she then closed her eyes and focussed on how it felt to firebend, so that she would feel warm again.

When she opened her eyes again, the boy with the shiny skates was in front of her. “You should probably go home. I fell in once, and even though Lanna waterbent my clothes dry, I got sick from being so cold.”

Korra smiled confidently at the boy. “I don’t have to worry about that. Look!”

She brought up her hands and cupped the palms together. After a moment, a small flame flickered to life in the center. Korra looked up at her new friends, expecting them to be impressed by her trick.

She didn’t expected them to step back from her in shock.

The girl with the braid finally spoke. “You’re the Avatar.”

Korra kept her smile firmly in place. “Yep. But don’t tell anyone, 'cause I’m supposed to stay inside the big house, and I don’t want the bearded man or his friends to find me yet.”

A frown crossed the braided girl’s face, and she glanced at the other children. “I won’t tell. But I don’t think you should play with us anymore.”

The fire in Korra’s hands flickered out. “Why not?”

“'Cause you’re the Avatar, and it wouldn’t be fair for you to play with us.”

Korra’s eyes began to itch. “Why wouldn’t it be fair?”

This time the boy with the shiny skates spoke up. “It just isn’t.”

Korra stared down at her still cupped hands, and turned away from the other children. She walked back to where she knew the supply sled would still be all by herself, like a big girl. When the man from the big house came back and found her sitting on the back of the sled, her cheeks were dry, and her eyes weren’t puffy anymore.

Korra was the Avatar, and the Avatar didn’t cry over not getting to play.

-*-

III.

There was a mountain of ice a day’s travel from the White Lotus compound. Korra had climbed it once, and when she reached the summit, she felt as though she was high enough to see the whole world. This was higher.

She peered over the edge of Oogi’s saddle from her place hidden among the luggage. The horizon seemed to stretch till forever, and the dark waters of the ocean were unbroken, except for small white specks Korra thought might be icebergs. While the sight was exhilarating at first, she quickly grew bored with it. This was almost as boring as the frozen waste she called home. Really, where was the fun stuff?

Korra let out a sigh. No sooner did she do that, than she received a cold, wet slap to the back of her head. “Ouch!”

Master Katara’s laughter could be heard over the rushing wind. “I thought we had a stowaway. Korra, come over here.”

The young Avatar clambered over sleeping packs, and through the nooks between suitcases. When she reached the center of the saddle, Korra was faced with her grinning waterbending master. From his place steering Oogi, Tenzin was looking at her with what she supposed was meant to be a stern expression. However, the hints of a smile that his beard failed to hide ruined the effect.

“Korra,” Katara chided, “You know how upset the masters get when you pull stunts like this.”

The girl was unmoved. “If you really didn’t want me to tag along, Master Katara, you shouldn’t have made it so easy for me to find a hiding place.”

Tenzin had turned back around, but Korra could tell by the way his shoulders shook that he was laughing. She didn’t see what was so funny about what she said - it was the truth.

Katara’s wrinkled hand on her shoulder drew the young girl’s attention back to her. “Korra, you know that we can’t take you to Republic City with us. You aren’t fully trained yet, and there are people who would love to take advantage of that and hurt you while they can.”

Korra hated it when people told her things like that. At least Master Katara hadn’t tried to tell her that she was “too young” to go traveling with them. Master Katara, of all people, knew better than to use that argument on the young Avatar.

“There are a lot of people in the city that wouldn’t think twice about hurting a little girl,” Tenzin’s voice drifted back to the two passengers. “Many of those same people wouldn’t think twice about trying to take you and use you for their own purposes if they found out you were within their reach.”

Katara’s expression was grim as she mulled over her son’s pronouncement. Korra hated to see that look on her favorite teacher’s face. “I’m not scared! If any bad guy tries to hurt me or whatever, I’ll beat them up! Isn’t that what everyone wants me to do? Fight the bad guys?”

The waterbending master stroked a hand through her pupil’s windblown hair. “Maybe someday, when you’re older, you can fight the bad guys. But not right now. Even Avatar Aang didn’t fight the bad guys until he was older than you. For now, we need to bring you back home.”

Korra felt tears of frustration well up in her eyes, and hated it. She was a big girl, she wasn’t going to cry over being sent home. She was the Avatar, and the Avatar didn’t cry.

If Katara noticed her tears, she made no mention of it. Instead, she pulled Korra close to her, claiming that it would help ward off the chill from the high altitude. The young Avatar had nearly mastered her emotions when Tenzin piped up again.

“Mother, it’s too late in the day to make it back to the compound before nightfall.”

Korra’s head popped up from her teacher’s embrace. She looked towards Tenzin with barely contained hope. The airbender was smiling back at her. “Perhaps we should stop for the night at the Southern Air Temple, and bring Korra back in the morning. I’m sure that the White Lotus wouldn’t object to us showing Korra the place where Avatar Aang grew up.”

Master Katara was smiling again. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, Tenzin..”

Korra’s smile was so wide, she felt like her face might split in two.

-*-

IV.

Korra stared at the object before her in utter awe. In ten years of life, she’d never seen anything quite like it. Well, she’d seen pictures, or the dried out remains of one. But those could never capture the true vibrancy and color of the item she now held.

“What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever seen a flower before?”

Korra looked up to see the most strangely dressed person she’d ever met. The older girl wore armor in varying shades of green, and stark white face paint. Her expression was imperious. “Well?”

Korra sullenly tugged at the edge of her anorak. “We don’t have flowers in the South Pole.”

“Hmph, I figured you weren’t from around here. I bet you’ve never left the pole before, too. Just try to stay out of trouble, kid.”

Korra responded with a giddy nod, and returned to her inspection of the flower stall, ignoring the disgruntled look from the shopkeeper. Her attention was caught by a collection of bright orange lilies. She prodded their soft petals with her index finger. The armor clad woman had nearly reached the street corner when Korra leaned in to sniff the orange blossoms.

Having never seen live flowers before, Korra had no way of anticipating her reaction. Her nose itched in a way that the girl had rarely experienced before. Before she realized what was happening, Korra unleashed the biggest sneeze of her life.

As she sneezed, two jets of fire shot out of Korra’s nose. The orange lilies which had so intrigued the girl were instantly incinerated. What’s more, the flames began to spread to the rest of the stall.

Immediately, the air was filled with dismayed cries – from the shopkeeper, from the armored woman, and from Korra. Without giving it much thought, the young girl reached out for all of the water filling the collection of flower pots. In a few smooth movements, Korra doused the fire that threatened to consume the little stall.

For a moment afterwards, everything was quiet. The shopkeeper and the armored woman stared at Korra in mute shock, while the young Avatar sheepishly tried to avoid their gazes. Then, the shopkeeper began flailing around and frothing at the mouth.

“What’s going on here?” A second armored woman, older than the first arrived on the scene. She was flanked by two more women in armor.

“Captain, there was an accident. The girl sneezed fire, but put it out before it caused too much damage.”

“Then why is Taro having what appears to be some sort of fit?”

The first armored woman glanced at Korra before speaking. “Well, Captain, the girl is the Avatar.”

\- - -

The captain of the Kyoshi Warriors –  _of course they’re the Kyoshi Warriors_ , Korra thought to herself in frustration,  _I’m_ on _Kyoshi Island_  – had declared that Korra would remain in their custody until the White Lotus came to retrieve her. This had caused the young Avatar no end of irritation, since she had hoped to be half a world away by the time the White Lotus figured out where she went. What’s more, they were treating her like she was some sort of criminal, insisting that she had to be supervised by one of them at all times (which wasn’t all  _that_  different from home, and didn’t that say something?).

Then there were the townspeople. After they found out about Korra, and what happened at Taro’s flower stall, they were constantly asking for her to do things for them. To date, she’d repaired three cracked foundations, helped irrigate no less than a dozen fields, and been asked if she would battle the Unagi by every other child she met.

The only person on the island who treated Korra like a person was the first Kyoshi warrior she’d met, Noriko.

“Try it again Korra. Remember, the fan is an extension of yourself.”

The young Avatar worked through the kata once more, aware of Noriko’s critical gaze. After she fumbled the weapon for a third time, she was ready to scream in frustration. “This isn’t working. Why isn’t it working?”

“When you bend, do you feel like the elements are a part of you?”

“Sort of. It depends on how good I am at bending that element.”

“Then treat the fan like it’s whichever element you’re best at. It does what you want because it’s part of you. Now try it again.”

Korra set her jaw stubbornly, and resumed her practice. She only had a week, at most, before the White Lotus dragged her back south, so she was determined to make it count.

-*-

V.

This had not been one of her better plans. Korra could admit that to herself, though at this point she wasn’t sure that she’d ever have the opportunity to admit it to anyone else. A shiver shot through her body as the wind picked up once more.

Honestly, she wasn’t even sure what had possessed her to run into the wilderness when it was nearly the dead of winter. She had just woken up at the start of the painfully short day, and decided that she had to leave the compound, right then and there. Korra had barely even bothered to pack. So now she was in the middle of nowhere, with almost no supplies, it was dark, and a storm seemed to be rolling in.

Korra knew that she should be scared, but mostly she was just mad at herself. What sort of Avatar wanders off to get killed by the cold? Maybe the masters were right about her, and her impulsiveness really would get her killed. Or maybe the spirits had somehow drawn her out here because they’d realized that it had been a mistake to make her the Avatar.

The young Avatar was drawn from her increasingly despondent thoughts by a high pitched whimper, audible above the howl of the wind. Startled, Korra immediately dropped into a fighting stance. She heard the whimper again, fainter this time. Summoning a flame in her hand, Korra searched for the source.

Following her ears, the girl stumbled across a large icy crag. The outcrop shielded her from the worst of the wind, which allowed Korra to hear the whimper once more, much more clearly than the previous times. She edged along the rock face, peering into crevices illuminated by her flickering flames. She was so intent on searching those tiny alcoves, that she didn’t notice the small ball of white fur until she tripped right over it.

When Korra fell, her fire went out. She landed flat on her face, and the pain of icy ground smashing into her left her momentarily stunned. Korra rolled to her side, willing back tears of pain. She didn’t know how long she lay there in the dark before something soft, and mercifully warm, began prodding her face.

Forcing herself into a sitting position, Korra summoned another fire to her palm. Sitting before her, a curious expression on it’s face, was a polar bear dog puppy. Gazing into the creature’s eyes, Korra felt her earlier doubts and worries disappear. The young Avatar dispersed her flame and opened her arms wide. The puppy bound into her embrace, licking Korra’s scratched and wind burnt face.

The Avatar and her familiar huddled against the frozen outcrop for the rest of the night. When the guards found them the next day, Korra was too focused on Naga to pay any attention to the half-dozen lectures she received.

-*-

\+ 1

The steam liner looked huge and imposing anchored at Air Temple Island’s small dock.  _This is starting to look almost familiar_ , Korra thought to herself. The White Lotus guards certainly looked as stern as they had when they’d picked her up from Kyoshi Island all those years ago. Korra reached out a hand to Naga as she trudged towards her gaolers, needing what comfort the polar bear dog could supply.

Really, how could she have expected a different outcome? It always ended this way.

“Wait.”

Korra couldn’t believe her ears when Tenzin declared that she could stay. Even amidst the cheers of his children, and their laughing embrace, she couldn’t believe it.

It wasn’t until she was settling into the new room she had all to herself, (with old furniture, and freshly washed bedding) that it began set in. Korra opened her small window to let in the crisp autumn air. The view was spectacular, with all of the glittering towers of Republic City filling the horizon. There was so much to see and do there, and for once Korra would have the chance to do it.

“I’m here to stay, Republic City.”


End file.
